{photo: Mrs. Muller (Lisa Renee Pitts) shocks Sister Aloysius (Jayne Taini) with an unexpected reaction to allegations that the priest may have behaved inappropriately toward her son in Doubt.}

We’ve heard many responses to Doubt - clearly the production is generating a great deal of discussion and conversation.  But an email I received this morning felt worth sharing:

 ”Dear Chris:

I thought the script for ‘Doubt’ was superb . . . it was so beauitifully written and tight.  Every incident, memory, response was perfectly fit to puzzle the pieces together, yet, still we wonder.  I was talking with a friend the other day and she had the idealist vision of nuns in habits, living quiet lives in contemplative convents.  Then she was searching for someone with whom to counsel.  A nun was her best recommendation so she went with it.  Their first meeting was a shock to her preconceived picture, when she met this sister and found her dressed in blue jeans and a sweatshirt; not at all in keeping with her conjured image.

 The Catholic sisters with whom I studied, worked and have known as good friends, mostly resembled Sister James in their temperaments and idealisms.  Their personalities were primarily sensitive and immensely loving.  I was very happy to learn in my own personal research before opening night that there really was a Sister James (Sister Margaret McEntee) and a Sister Aloysius (Sister Aloysia - head mistress) both of whom were an inspiration for John Patrick Shanley’s narrative.  He has provided us with a unique gift; for me my mind is wild with images and memories.

And then there is the issue of ‘doubt’ . . . it is so large.  I once experienced a strong intuitive observation for which there was no indication of proof . . . just the feeling and the sense of it.  In this situation, the doubt kept my counsel.  Ironically, then years after the fact of my thoughts, a Catholic sister was in the appropriate place and time to expose the truth.  It was apparent and at that time, awareness and her diligent and careful research revealed an ongoing pattern, there was no doubt.

And then there is thet concept of ‘reasonable doubt’ and how one serving on a jury must continually check one’s thoughts and conclusions against this market.  It can be an awesome challenge.

You must know how much we have appreciated your choices for each year’s productions.  There is always something which touches us deeply, and provides challenges which inspire thought and conversation.  For what more could we ask?

Thank you,

Jessie Adams”

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Some of the cast of Doubt took a few moments out of their rehearsal schedule to sit down with our multimedia designer Patrick and share some thoughts about the nature of Doubt and the process of creating just the right amount of uncertainty in this Tony and Pulitzer prize-winning play.

Interview with Jennifer Lee Taylor (Sister James)

Interview with Sister Aloysius (Jayne Taini)

Interview with Father Flynn (John Behlmann)

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{photo: A man of the cloth (John Behlmann) should be above reproach, but a woman’s intuition (Sister Aloysius, played by Jayne Taini) should not be ignored in Doubt, which opened Friday on the Main Stage.}

The reviews are starting to come in and people are raving about our just-opened production of Doubt. The Tribune and the Oregonian both posted their reviews online over the weekend.

Here’s the highlights:

“Center Stage and director Rose Riordan get excellent performances from a four-person cast, most notably Jayne Taini as Sister Aloysius and John Behlmann as Father Flynn.

Ultimately, Shanley is the star. One of America’s finest playwrights, he never fails to give an audience plenty to think about, even when he leaves it wanting more.”

- Eric Bartels, Portland Tribune

“As Shanley said on ‘The Newshour with Jim Lehrer,’ ‘the last act of the play takes place after the play is over, when people walk out that door and decide or don’t decide what the play’s about and who did what.’

The ‘last act,’ then, that played out Friday night at the Gerding Theater was vigorously entertaining and thought-provoking, much like the performance that preceded it. Which is to say, the opening night of Portland Center Stage’s production, directed by Rose Riordan with a keen attention to both detail and dramatic shape, inspired plenty of lively post-show chatter.”

- Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

Ben Waterhouse at the Willamette Week also posted an Opening Night online preview, which delves into some interesting connections between the play and Portland’s own parochial school history. (Did you know that Portland’s Sisters of the Holy Names took on the KKK in a landmark Supreme Court case? Yep.

Did you see the show this weekend? Share your own reactions to the play on our Doubt page.

Still planning a trip? Bring a group and your tickets just got a whole lot cheaper.

See you at the theater!

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{photo: Sister Aloysius (Jayne Taini) has her suspicions about the charming new priest Father Flynn (John Behlmann) and his relationship with her school’s first African-American student.}

I had never seen a production of Doubt onstage, and it had been quite awhile since I read the script.  So it was a pleasure to discover how powerful John Patrick Shanley’s script plays onstage.  In Rose Riordan’s simple and taut production, the twists and hairpin turns of the story’s plot feel like they’ve been etched with a razor blade. 

 There were several times during the first preview when you literally could not hear the audience breathing - such was the rapt level of attention in the room.

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Final dress tonight. It’s late and I should be in bed sleeping but Owen Carey our photographer took photos at our final dress and sent me this.  It looks like I am sitting all alone, peacefully waiting for the actors to come on - but in fact there are about ten people sitting behind me with computers, scripts, cables, wires and headsets.  When the house lights are out it looks like a long cockpit in an airplane.  The set is by Bill Bloodgood and lighting by Daniel Ordower.  We are all looking forward to a day off before the big push next week of rehearsals and previews.  Can’t wait to have audiences.

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